


You've Got to be Shatting Me

by Loverboy_Lance



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, BAMF Allura (Voltron), Bisexual Disaster Matt Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Matt Holt, College Student Allura (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Shiro (Voltron), Guitarist Lance (Voltron), Human Shay (Voltron), Humor, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) is a Dork, Lesbian Allura (Voltron), Lesbian Romelle (Voltron), M/M, Matt Holt is insecure, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, POV First Person, POV Matt Holt, Pidge | Katie Holt Being an Asshole, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Pidge | Katie Holt is So Done, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Smart Pidge | Katie Holt, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Trans Romelle (Voltron), but wait! there's more, dang that's a lot of tags, how is that not a tag yet, video game store and suit shop au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23912806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loverboy_Lance/pseuds/Loverboy_Lance
Summary: Matt, Pidge, Keith, and Shay all work in Garrison Tech and Gaming. Shiro, Lance, and Allura work in Altean Apparel, the suit shop across the way in the mall. They share a microwave in the break room of Garrison Tech and Gaming and a bathroom in Altean Apparel. Romance sparks fast between some, others are justsodone with their friends and their shenanigans, everyone is a disaster in one way or another. This is basically the wild ride of a bunch of new-found friends and all the shit they get up to!
Relationships: Allura & Lance (Voltron), Allura/Romelle (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Matt Holt & Keith, Matt Holt & Pidge | Katie Holt, Matt Holt/Shiro
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. The Holt Operation

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic will be mainly focused on Shiro/Matt (especially since it's from Matt's point of view). I'm sorry if you came for the other ships, they're still in it but not to the same extent.  
> I found this AU idea on Pinterest, can't remember exactly where now but it was a screenshotted Tumblr post. If any of you guys know where it's from _please_ let me know and I'll link it!  
> So the idea of the AU is that there's a game store and a suit shop across from each other in a mall, and the game store lets the people from the suit shop use their microwave in exchange for use of their bathroom. It's like another version of the classic Flower Shop/Cafe AU, but this one has a few different opportunities.  
> Anyways, here's my Voltron take on that! It's a work in progress, I still don't know how many chapters it will be but I do know it will be long. Enjoy!

It was just a normal day in GTG, as we liked to call the store I worked at. It was really called ‘Garrison Tech and Gaming’, but we didn’t think it really flowed. Of course, when talking to customers we still used the customary ‘Welcome to Garrison Tech and Gaming, how may I help you’, but other than that… it was just GTG to everyone that worked there.

My little sibling was on duty with me today, which was always a pain in the ass. Imagine being stuck with your younger sibling and only being able to take about 1.5 5-ish minute pee breaks, which was an issue since the bathrooms are like 5 minutes away from our shop. That’s what working with Pidge was like; it wasn’t exactly a nightmare, but it wasn’t really a dream come true either.

As the normal (see: extremely boring and uneventful) day passed, we were getting bored. Every now and then some customers would come in from the mall outside, but more often than not they were ‘just browsing’. It was frustrating, but it was work.

Then, something changed. Someone with pounding footsteps interrupted the staring contest Pidge and I were having and I huffed. I was so going to win that one, all right? Just because Pidge had won every single other staring contest because they were part robot or something didn’t mean I wasn’t about to win this one when this guy just ran right up to the counter.

“Welcome to Garrison Tech and Gaming, how may we help you,” Pidge droned.

“Hi, yeah, I’m Takashi,” said the out of breath guy that had just run into our store. Once I stopped to look, he was actually kind of hot… but now was not the time for that. “Uh, I’m from the suit shop across the hall, you know, Altean Apparel. And we were kinda wondering if you guys have a microwave?”

Pidge groaned and I grinned.

“Yeah, we actually do!” I exclaimed, walking out from behind the counter. “Hey, Pidgeotto? Take the store for me for a second?”

“Sure thing,” they said sarcastically. “Just leave me with all the work, will you?”

“Thanks, you’re the best!” I shouted as I pulled Takashi towards the break room.

“Being the best doesn’t get me a pee break!” Pidge shouted back.

Takashi just laughed as he followed me through the door that led to our break room.

\-----

“So, what do you want in exchange for using the microwave?” Takashi asked once we were in the break room.

“I think I heard someone say that you guys have a bathroom?” I asked hopefully.

“Yeah? You want bathroom accessibility in exchange for us using the microwave?”

“Hell yeah!” I said, jumping excitedly into the air. “Oh, just wait until Keith hears about this!”

“Wait, who?” Takashi asked, hurriedly shoving some food into the microwave as he spoke.

“Keith Kogane, what about him?”

“He never told me he worked here!” Takashi said with a frown. “Oh, we could’ve had a much more accessible microwave all this time…”

“Wait a minute,” I said, thinking. Takashi’s name did sound familiar… “Wait. You’re Keith’s brother, right?”

“Yeah,” Takashi said with a sigh. “Quite the displeasure.”

“But Keith’s so nice?” I furrowed my brow. “I mean, he is a little quiet for retail I guess, but his heart’s in the right place?”

Takashi laughed. “Yeah, sure, he lets you believe that. He’s a little emo kid at heart though, even if that heart never quite shows through.”

“Really?” I stood on the tips of my toes, reaching for some ramen noodles that Shay had tried to hide from the rest of us. “I never would’ve guessed. Whenever he takes a game it’s always like Halo or something.”

“Yeah, he just likes shooting things.”

“That makes sense,” I said with a laugh. “But, you know, don’t we all? Like shooting things, that is.”

Takashi shrugged. “I don’t really, I prefer more of the adventure games. If they have shooting it’s alright, but I don’t play for that mechanic.”

My eyes bugged right out of their sockets. I felt love at first sight kicking in (not for the first time) and I was so, so glad that Takashi wasn’t just a ‘one-and-done’ customer.

“You game?” I asked, barely able to form words in my state of shock.

“Sometimes,” Takashi said with a grin. “Mostly Keith’s fault, but sometimes I do it just for fun.”

“Well,” I said, stammering. “If you ever need any recommendations…”

“You’ll be my go-to,” Takashi confirmed with a smile.

I almost fell over from where I was standing on my toes, still trying to grab the ramen. Takashi seemed to notice and walked over, food still turning in the microwave.

“Here, let me help,” he said before reaching up and grabbing the ramen with no effort at all.

“Thanks.”

I took the ramen with shaking fingers and I hated myself for how childish I was being about a hot guy who worked at a suit shop. Still, I definitely had some attraction wrapped up in him now and he was going to be coming over to GTG. Probably a lot. I don’t know if I was mentally prepared for that or not.

\-----

After Takashi left I went straight (ha) to Pidge.

“Hey Asshole,” I said as a way of greeting.

“Aw, look, it’s Shit!” Pidge said back. “Finally stopped talking to your boyfriend?”

“About that,” I said, fidgeting with the collar of my work shirt. “He’s super hot and I think I love him because he also games but it feels kinda wrong because he’s also Beefcake’s older brother-”

“He’s what now,” Pidge said, frowning.

“He’s Beefcake’s older brother, Takashi.”

“Yeah. I got that. I was just making sure.”

“So? Thoughts?”

“Yeah, well, we have confirmation that he’s gay-”

“You what?” I exclaimed. “You should’ve led with that!”

“I was also going to say that Beefcake’s going to be pissed and you probably don’t want to deal with that.”

I nodded solemnly, thinking. “I would get blackmail on Beefcake to make him quiet though.”

“Oh, you bet your ass I’ll cover for you!” Pidge yelled. “I love blackmail!”

Laughing, I fished five dollars out of my pocket and slid them to Pidge.

“I assume this will keep you quiet until I have a game plan for dating him?”

Pidge snatched the money with a feral grin. “Absolutely. Also, you’re covering for more pee breaks. Do we have a deal?”

I nodded, but Pidge spit into their hand and extended it anyways. With a sigh, I did the same and we shook on it.


	2. GTG and Nicknames (It’s Tradition)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like a summary would spoil the fun so I'm not gonna give anything away.  
> Anyways, here's the next chapter in this fic! More characters are showing up, I promise!

For the rest of my shift I was practically skipping around the room. By the time Keith showed up to take over I was so far gone that I hardly heard him walk in.

“Hi and welcome to Garrison Tech and Gaming! How may I help you?” I said, then I registered that I was talking to Keith. “Oh, sorry. Hi Beefcake!”

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Keith asked.

“Well, one of those suit guys from Altean Apparel came over and we struck a deal for their bathroom,” I explained.

“Hardly seems a reason for excitement.”

“Yeah, but he was hot and they’re right across the hall.”

Keith frowned. “Say, was it only one? I’m in the market for a boyfriend too, you know.”

I shrugged. “We’ll see a lot more of them, don’t you worry. I’m sure you’ll find your someone.”

“Whatever. As long as they’re fine with me staying up to game, I’m cool with whoever.”

Just as Keith finished his sentence, Pidge came dashing through the door.

“Shit, you will not believe how amazing their bathrooms are,” they said before they noticed Keith. “Oh, and hi Bastard.”

“Pidgeotto, really?” I said.

“Yes, really. I feel like it’s important to address who you’re talking to!”

Keith just shrugged. “Whatever. Pidge, did you see any other guys than this supposed ‘hot guy’ that Shit mentioned while you were trying out their bathrooms?”

“Well, I don’t know if he was really hot but there was another guy. Said he’s going to come over in a bit to warm up some pizza, I think.” Pidge grinned. “I’ll introduce you, I’m working doubles today.”

I nodded, going behind the counter and grabbing my bag. “Yeah, and I’m not. See you later, Pidgeotto!”

“See ya, Shit!” Pidge called as I was leaving the shop and I could hear Keith’s laughter ring out afterwards.

\-----

As I was walking out of the door to our shop I practically ran into another person.

“Oh, hey, didn’t see you there, sorry,” I rambled as I went to look at who I had just had a close encounter with.

It was Takashi, much to my surprise, excitement, and dismay.

“You leaving too?” Takashi asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah. Pidgeotto’s working doubles and Beefcake just got here,” I said, playing nervously with my fingers. “It’s time for me to make like a korok and leaf.”

“Did you just call my brother ‘beefcake’?” Takashi asked, completely ignoring the brilliant pun I had just made.

I nodded. “Beefcake, with a capital B. That’s his name around GTG, as we like to call our shop.”

“So you all have nicknames?” Takashi asked as we continued to walk.

“Yeah. Pidge is Pidgeotto, Keith is Beefcake, and Shay is Meadow.”

“How’d you get Meadow from Shay?” Takashi gave me a curious look. “And what’s your nickname?”

“Uh, well, Meadow comes from the fact that Shay sounds like milkshake and cows make milkshakes and there’s a race in Mario Kart that’s full of cows called Moo Moo Meadows so we just shortened it to Meadow.”

“Got it. And your nickname?”

I sighed. “I’m Shit.”

“Say what now?” Takashi said, seemingly taken aback.

“Yeah, Pidge started it and it caught on. They gave everyone a vulgar name, though mine’s the only one that stuck. For example, I call them Asshole sometimes because they’re my sibling, and they call Keith Bastard a lot and Shay’s typically Bitch-Ass-Mo-Fo.” I grinned. “It’s kinda funny, though, since I’m not the only one.”

Takashi nodded. “Makes sense. Sometimes, if we meet up outside of work of course, I hear Lance and his friend Hunk call each other stuff like that.”

“By the way, Pidge said there was another guy working with you today?” I asked. “Who was it?”

“Oh, that was just Lance.” Takashi shrugged. “He’s nothing much, just a bit vulgar sometimes. Kind of like how you describe Pidge. His favourite color is blue, he’s bisexual and bilingual and makes sure all of his coworkers know. He also plays guitar and has a real talent for oversharing stuff about himself.”

I laughed. “Sounds like exactly the kind of guy that Keith would be interested in, honestly.”

“Yeah,” Takashi said with a sarcastic snort. “Heard he’s going over to your shop to heat up some pizza. I hope I don’t hear too much about him later, I hear enough about him from himself.”

“Well, I pity you then. Pidge’s gonna try to set them up, I can guarantee it.”

“I wish them luck.” Takashi chuckled. “Keith’s going to be too stubborn to admit he likes Lance, even if he does.”

I shrugged. “I doubt it. He was already asking about him.”

“Really? How’d he know about him?”

“Pidge was talking about how amazing you guys’ bathroom is and it came up,” I said nervously, trying to dodge the fact that I had also indirectly brought up the hot guy I was talking to. “Pidge said they don’t know if they would consider him hot, but Keith said he’d be willing to give any guy a shot. I say it’s only a matter of days before they’re dating.”

Takashi’s eyebrows shot up. “I’ve never heard that from Keith before.”

“Don’t mention it though!” I exclaimed. “He doesn’t know I know you, and I’m worried he’ll, like, kill me for being friends with you or something. Now that you mentioned he’s emo I looked a little closer and he’s pretty scary.”

“Alright,” Takashi said with a laugh. “I won’t mention it. Still, it’s strange that he never told me that.”

“I mean, I tend not to tell Pidge much stuff about my romantic life,” I said. “Actually, that’s a lie. I tell them everything and ask for advice, which just gives them more blackmail material and is a really stupid idea in general.”

Takashi grinned. “Sounds like a great relationship.”

I nodded. “It’s good enough.”

“Well,” Takashi said, looking around only to realize we were at the parking deck of the mall. “I guess this is where we part?”

“Only if you want to,” I said. “I mean, this could also be where I give you my number?”

Takashi paused to think about it. Oh my god he was thinking about it. Where was Pidge when you needed them?

“Sure,” Takashi said, pulling out his phone and opening his contacts. “Add yourself, I’ll text you later.”

I just about passed out from the sheer overwhelming force of not being rejected. “Alright,” I managed to stammer as I took Takashi’s phone and entered my name and number. “There. You better text me, Takashi.”

Takashi smiled and I felt the whole parking deck light up. “On one condition,” he said.

“Anything.”

“Call me Shiro,” he said with a wave and he started walking to his car.

\-----

“Asshole,” I said over the phone, having called GTG right after I got in the car. “Asshole, guess what?”

“What is it, Shit?” I heard Pidge’s voice over the phone so I continued.

“IjustgaveTakashimynumberandhe’sgonnatextmeandaskedmetocallhimShiroandIdon’tknowwhattodo,” I fumbled.

“Well, you’ve gotta let me finish work before I figure this one out,” Pidge declared. “Can’t do it while the Bastard’s in the same room, you know?”

“Speaking of Beefcake, how’d his meeting with Lance go?”

I could hear Pidge sputter over the phone, and I could tell it was probably from laughter. “Oh, spectacular. Did you know that Hawaiian pizza isn’t actually Hawaiian? In fact, it’s not even American! It’s Canadian!”

I snorted. “Which idiot said that one?”

“The one that said he prefers _idiota_ to the word idiot.”

“I would assume that’s Lance, then?”

“How’d you know?” Pidge asked.

“Well, I heard from someone that Lance is bisexual and bilingual. I also heard that he overshares?”

“Ridiculously,” Pidge agreed. “I think we might’ve found ourselves our Hoe in him.”

Knowing that Pidge meant nickname-wise, I grinned. “So we have the full crew, then? Shit, Bastard, Asshole, Bitch-Ass-Mo-Fo, and Hoe? What’ll Shiro be?”

“Shiro can be… hm,” Pidge whispered, and I assumed she was trying not to be heard by Keith. “Ah, Shiro can be Pussy. He makes up for not getting any by being one, at least in title.”

“Sounds alright with me,” I said with a laugh. “Say, have Lance and Keith started dating yet?”

“Yeah,” Pidge said. “And they said that it sounds less weird if you call them Keith and Lance, so I’d keep that in mind.”

“Got it.”

“Now, I’m going to go, and I’ll talk to you about Pussy when I get off of work.”

“Alright. Call me?”

“I’ll call you,” Pidge agreed, and then they hung up.

\-----

When I got home I immediately checked my phone to see if Pidge had called and they hadn’t. Surprisingly, though, Shiro had already texted me.

I sunk into a chair, ready to be put down nicely over text, but instead was greeted with a blessing from heaven.

The text read:

_Unknown Number_ : Hey Matt, this is Shiro! I was thinking that, since you seem like a nice guy, maybe we can grab dinner sometime? Just the two of us, I mean, because if we introduce the fact that we both know my brother lord knows we’ll see enough of each other lol

Well, the first thing to fix was the fact that it said ‘Unknown Number’. I added Shiro as a contact before rereading the text over and over. Suddenly, Pidge called and I picked up right away.

“Right, so I have a bathroom break,” Pidge said. “I figured what you said was urgent enough. So?”

“He basically just asked me on a date,” I whispered, even though there was no one to hide my voice from.

“Sweet! Now say yes.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Just type in the words ‘yeah that sounds great’ and send them,” Pidge said, obviously getting irritated. “It’s not that hard.”

“But-”

“No buts!” I could hear Pidge laughing, which was never a good thing. “Alright, so I’m going to hang up and you’re going to accept the date. Got it?”

Before I could assure them that I do indeed ‘got it’, they hung up. I groaned.

_Alright,_ I thought. _It’s not that hard. You can do this._

I quickly typed out ‘that sounds great!’ and hit send. Now I just had to wait.

\-----

Within a few minutes I had a response.

_Shiro_ : Did you mean to say that?

I quickly looked back at my response. Instead of what I thought it said, it read ‘that sounds gay!’ and I started to freak out.

_Me_ : Only if you wanted me to? Otherwise, I meant to say great

I was a little confident in my response, but when Shiro replied to that I just about fell out of my chair.

_Shiro_ : So it’s a date, then?

Before I got the chance to overthink it I replied.

_Me_ : Yeah, date sounds good

The rest of the conversation went by in a blur, but I was aware that I now had a date in a few days with the older brother of one of my coworkers. How weird was that to think about?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing in this chapter: Lance, Romelle, and Shay! Stay tuned until the next chapter for Allura, and a sneaky peak at Hunk!

“So my brother told me he has a date,” Keith said when he walked in to join me for the first shift. “Only told me ‘cause I told him I’ve got a date, too.”

“Really?” I tried to act surprised and failed.

“Pidgeotto told you, didn’t they,” Keith said with a grin. I nodded. “You two are practically attached at the hip, it doesn’t surprise me.”

“So, how’s Lance?” I asked, trying to change the subject from siblings because lord knows where that would go.

“Did you know his favourite color is-”

“Blue?” I interrupted. Keith gave me a surprised look and then I remembered that I hadn’t met Lance yet. “Lucky guess?”

“Sure,” Keith said, frowning. “Know anything else about him?”

“He overshares,” I said cautiously, hoping that Keith wouldn’t pick up on my slip up.

Keith nodded. “Guess Pidgeotto could’a told you that one. He also plays guitar and he’s bilingual so you know what that means?”

“No?”

“It means he can play Despacito,” Keith said with a grin. “It means that I can say ‘this is so sad, Lance play Despacito’ and he actually can because he’s such a meme that he learned how.”

“That’s amazing!” I exclaimed. “When’s he going to bring his guitar? I need to hear this.”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know that apparently you met my brother yesterday, though?”

“You what?” I sputtered.

“Yeah, he said he came over to heat up some pizza and I was able to guess that he came over during your shift.” Keith shrugged again. “I was also able to guess that he’s probably the guy you called hot directly to my face yesterday. The audacity, Shit, the _audacity_.”

“Sorry, sorry!” I said, putting my hands in the universal ‘I surrender’ pose. “Did he tell you who his date was with, though?”

Keith shook his head. “Unless you know?”

I shrugged. “I just wanna hear more about Lance. What’s he like?”

“Dunno, he’s a bit much,” Keith admitted before smiling and backtracking a little bit. “I mean, like, in a good way. He’s got plenty of stuff to talk about, even when I don’t know what to say.”

I nodded. “I get what you mean. I’m typically the Lance, though.”

“I bet Pidgeotto has already given him a nickname?”

“Yeah.” I snorted. “He’s Hoe. And Shiro has one, too.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Shiro’s Pussy,” I said, grinning. “Pidgeotto said it makes up for him not getting any.”

Keith doubled over in a full-blown belly laugh that I had only heard from him probably about twice before. “He’s going to _hate_ your asshole of a sibling, Shit.”

I shrugged. “He just thinks they’re funny, with nicknames for everyone and all. Was a bit confused when I referred to you as Beefcake on accident, though.”

“You did what now?” Keith sputtered.

“I called you Beefcake in front of Shiro. He thought it was the best thing ever, honestly.” I flicked Keith’s arm. “We do need to get back to opening, though.”

Keith just nodded and went to the door. I started fixing up the counter for the day.

\-----

“Hi, I have omelettes and I can share.”

“Lance!” Keith exclaimed as the person I could only assume was Lance walked through the door with, true to his words, a platter of omelettes.

“That’s my name,” Lance said with a lopsided smile. I could see how Keith fell for him. Then Lance walked further into the shop and saw me. “The name’s Lance. What might your name be?”

“Taken,” Keith said, but whether he was reminding me or Lance was unclear. “He’s the one that I think’s dating Shiro.”

“Oh!” Lance exclaimed, and I could only stare. “That would make you Matt or, as everyone else knows you, Shit!”

I groaned. “Really, Keith, it’s bad enough that you lot call me that.”

“Payback,” Keith said with a shrug. “For dating my brother, that is. You are dating him, right?”

My brain short-circuited and my mouth stopped working. I could only nod at Keith, who smiled. Wait, he smiled?

“I can tell you two probably get along well,” Keith said. “He seems to like you, so just don’t hurt him or you’ll die.”

“I’m a bad bitch, you can’t kill me!” I responded on instinct before realizing that Lance was doubled over laughing at what I had said and Keith was giving me a strange look.

“I wasn’t planning on killing you,” Keith said. “I meant that if anything happens to him I’ll cheer him on as I watch him kick your ass. I’m not helping you. That being said, if he hurts you I’ll cheer you on instead. But you’ll probably lose, so just don’t let him hurt you.”

“What makes you so confident that I’d lose?” I asked. “You should trust me.”

Keith scoffed. “Shiro’s an ex-martial artist. I’ll just leave it at that.”

I could only stand and stare as Lance pulled Keith to the breakroom to heat up the omelettes. I had really scored on this one, but if anything went wrong… well, let’s just say that I’d have to watch my back for at least a month.

\-----

A few days later I got to see Shiro again. Turns out that our shifts don’t really overlap unless it’s Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. We met on a Saturday and planned our date for the next Saturday, but at least I got to see him on the Thursday before.

This was a shift I had with Shay, and she was just going around the shop organizing. I was the one at the counter for now, but we had certain codes for if we needed to swap. When I heard someone walk through the door around lunchtime I used one.

“Hello and welcome to the Garrison! How might I be of service?” I called out, and Shay came dashing up to the counter before the person that just walked in.

“You can’t just call a code whenever someone walks in around a mealtime,” Shay accused. “I’ve heard from the others that you’ve been doing it all week.”

Before I could try and plead my case, Shiro walked up to the counter with a smile.

“Matt, I think you know how you can help me today,” Shiro said and I nearly fell over.

“Yeah, right, breakroom, now,” I spit out. Shay was laughing, but she took over the counter anyways. At least she had human decency.

\-----

“So, what do you have for lunch today?” I asked, leaning against the counter in the breakroom.

“I’ve got a sandwich,” Shiro said with a shrug, pulling the aforementioned sandwich out of the bag he had been carrying.

“Then why’d you come over?”

“To see you,” Shiro said, like it was some universal fact.

“Oh,” I said, world tipping over on its head for the second time in less than half an hour. That couldn’t be good for my sanity.

“So, how’s life been? Haven’t seen you since Saturday.”

“Keith figured it out,” I blurted out.

“He what?” Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He figured out we’re dating, and he threatened that I’d die at your hands if I hurt you,” I said.

“Sounds like Keith,” Shiro reasoned. “He threatened me too, you know. I guess he likes both of us so we just shouldn’t cause any trouble?”

I shrugged. “It’s not like I’m keen to beat you up or anything. He told me you used to do martial arts-”

“That was, like, a decade ago!” Shiro exclaimed with a snort. “He told me you know how to aim a gun.”

“Only in video games. In real life? I don’t even know where to _find_ a gun, let alone use one!”

Shiro and I burst into laughter just as a screech came from outside.

We took one look at each other and the sandwich was left on the table as we dashed back into the store.

\-----

“She just… I don’t even know!” A girl with long, pale-blonde hair was rambling to the phone when she saw us walk out and stopped.

“What happened?” Shiro asked as I rushed over to where she was standing. In front of her I saw Shay, out cold on the floor.

“This better not be a prank, Meadow,” I whispered as I went to check her pulse.

“Who’s Meadow?” The girl asked me as I was bent over Shay.

“It’s her nickname,” I explained. “Her real name’s Shay. Mine’s Matt, nice to meet you despite the circumstances. What’s your name?”

“I’m Romelle,” the girl said, still shaken. “Do you know what happened to her?”

“Shiro?” I called. “Do you know any medical shit?”

“1st off, language,” he called back from where he had been walking. I assumed he was probably going to get someone to help us. “2nd, yes I do. What are we talking?”

“I feel a pulse but I don’t know what else to do at all,” I admitted.

“Alright, I’ll stay here,” Shiro said, walking back over to Shay. “You go get Allura, she’s taught me enough stuff to try while you get her. She’s the lady with the white hair on duty in Altean Apparel. Hard to miss. She’s in med school, she can probably help.”

I nodded and ran in the direction I knew Altean Apparel to be from some bathroom breaks and hoped that I wouldn’t be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that's quite the cliffhanger!  
>  _insert evil laughter here_  
>  I think I might just decide to leave this one for a day or two, let the cliffhanger hang a bit. I mean, sure, I have the next chapter already written up, but what's the fun in that?  
> Actually, if I leave it I'll probably forget to submit it. So just do yourself a favor and let the ending sink in a bit, don't immediately click next chapter! It'll be better that way, I think.  
> Anyways, I'm just going to upload the rest of what I have and then keep working! This _is_ a work-in-progress, after all, so I'm going to have a few more gaps in uploading starting after the next chapter because that's as far as I got.  
> Also, side note, if this fic takes place in the US (which I imagine it does), Matt is just an idiot when it comes to finding a gun because in this stupid country you can find one in a Walmart. And to the people who don't live in the US: I'm not kidding when I say that, I've seen it myself. It's pretty bad, honestly.


	4. Healing and Hurting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the angst chapter. Don't worry, I'll fix it later because it _does_ have a happy ending, but it's going to take a little while.

“Is there an Allura in here?” I shouted the moment I was in Altean Apparel.

“Yes, and you aren’t getting any free discounts,” a young-sounding voice called as I heard footsteps.

“I don’t want a discount, just some medical help,” I explained as I waited for this ‘Allura’ to show her face.

“Oh, you’re from the Garrison shop?” I was about to respond as a beautiful white-haired girl who looked closer to Keith’s age than mine rounded a corner in the shop and her question was answered by my work shirt.

“Shiro sent me,” I said as she got closer and I found my words. “My coworker, Shay, just dropped.”

“And you’re Matt, I assume?” Allura asked as we speedwalked out of Altean Apparel and into GTG.

“Yeah, and I’m really hoping that you’re the Allura I was supposed to get.”

She laughed, and her laugh was just as gorgeous as the rest of her. How she was working at a suit shop when she could be a model was beyond me, but I was just grateful for her medical expertise at the moment. Besides, I had a boyfriend. I could look but not flirt.

“Shiro, did I grab the right person?” I asked as we ran into the part of the shop that Shay was in.

The girl, Romelle, was still there, and Shay was still out on the floor. Shiro had been looking for bleeding and Romelle was still on the phone with someone. It was quite the scene.

“Clear the scene,” Allura ordered with a voice that said she meant business. Shiro got up and walked over to me, and Romelle did the same.

Romelle finally got off the phone and looked at me. “The EMS should be here any minute now, I’m just glad you found this Allura. I mean, she is amazingly helpful and _amazing_ eye-candy.”

I laughed at the last comment and I saw Shiro grin out of the corner of my eye. Allura made no sign to show she heard us as she checked Shay up and down and then started what I was pretty sure was CPR.

“Oh, so _that’s_ what I was supposed to do,” Shiro muttered.

I shrugged. “I mean, I’ll trust the med student over the martial artist on medical issues any day.”

“That was over a decade ago!” Shiro said with a grin. “And you’re one to talk, Mr. I-obviously-didn’t-pay-attention-in-health-class.”

“Yeah, well, at least I got the right person!” I said.

“There was one person in the shop,” Shiro pointed out.

“Still! It matters!”

“Could you two lovebirds suck it up and apologize so I can focus?” Allura snapped from her position on the floor.

Romelle started laughing as Shiro looked at me. I just shrugged and then he did something absolutely _insane_. He kissed me!

When he kissed me I didn’t feel the cliche fireworks that everyone talks about. I felt a comfortable warmth that spread from my chest to every part of my body, something that felt like it truly came from my heart. The kiss only lasted seconds but it felt like multiple lifetimes.

As Shiro pulled away I felt the air entirely leave my lungs, a disappointed and satisfied sigh leaving my lips. I could see Shiro’s smile, blinding me with its warmth and sheer brightness. Romelle was still laughing, obviously aware that this was our first kiss, though she was turned mostly to Allura. Shiro just smiled, blissful and warm. I bet he wasn’t even aware that that was my first kiss!

“Oh!” Romelle exclaimed, pointing to the door. “The EMS is here!”

We all turned to the door, watching as the EMS workers came in and put Shay on a stretcher. This would be quite the story to tell the others, that was for sure.

As they were leaving one stayed slightly behind to take a statement from Romelle, since she was the only witness. After that the same worker made sure that we would be updated on Shay’s status once she arrived at the hospital and then he left.

“Well, that was _quite_ the experience!” Allura said, looking between the three of us still in the shop.

I simply nodded while Romelle looked on in wonder and Shiro started to head back to the breakroom.

“How are you just… calm, after all of that?” Romelle asked.

Allura shrugged. “I’m a med student, it’s in the job description.”

I nodded, following Shiro and leaving the two of them to discuss as they needed.

\-----

“Shouldn’t you be working?” Shiro asked once I got in the breakroom.

“Shouldn’t you?” I retorted with a grin.

“I guess you’ve got me there,” he admitted with a soft smile. “So, where were we?”

I thought for a second before brightening up again. “Yeah, we were talking about not being able to beat each other up!”

Shiro nodded before responding. “Not the best topic.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “not really. Got a better one?”

“So you said you gamed and could give me recommendations?” I just about fainted, much like Shay did just moments ago. He wanted me to do what?

“You… you want me to…?”

“You make that sound a lot harder than it is, I’m sure,” Shiro said.

“Yes, well,” I sputtered, “I’m very gay and you’re, like, really hot. And you’re asking _me_ , a humble peasant, about my thoughts on something. You are like a god on earth and, like, just… wow?”

Shiro laughed and I swear it sounded like music. Actually, no. It sounded sweeter than music ever could. I almost missed his next words because of his perfect laugh, perfect like the rest of him.

“Don’t sell yourself too short, Matt. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Psh!” My eyes widened in shock, surprise, and… well, probably absolute disbelief too. “Says Mr. Greek God! You’re like a walking Michelangelo statue! Have you looked in a mirror recently because hot _damn_ , if you haven’t you really should before you tell me that again.”

That made Shiro pause, and I wondered if I had said something wrong. I probably had, _shit_ , I was really good at messing up relationships. I usually came on too strong and people would say I was too much and then they would leave, I hadn’t had a single significant other stay around long enough to even get a fifth date. I’d be lucky to even get a second, honestly, but there was one girl… it didn’t matter now, though, because I was losing Shiro. _Shiro_ , my co-worker’s older brother who used to do martial arts and could probably beat me to a pulp even if he said he couldn’t, though he probably would never because he was too much of a god-damned sweetheart and _fuck_ was I whipped already.

One date. I really shouldn't have gotten attached, I knew how this would end, it always ended like this, there really was no reason I should’ve thought it wouldn’t, I was an idiot for believing that this time-

“Matt? Earth to Matt? You in there?” Shiro was whispering, which made my _oh shit_ levels just go even fucking higher, if that was even possible.

“Yeah,” I managed to force out, and I sounded pathetic. Shiro probably thought I was pathetic. “Yeah, and I’m sorry, but I think that maybe the best thing we should do is just go back to work and pretend this never happened? I can pretend this never happened, I promise.”

“What do you mean?”

Oh shit, this was bad. Now he was going to completely cut me out of his life, he didn’t even want to _pretend_ , I had to fix this and fast before it crashed and burned and Keith kicked my gay ass to the curb and I had to live a life of misery.

“I just meant that I know how this is going to go and I am completely fine with pretending that nothing happened between us,” I said, lying through my teeth with the second part. “I know it’s for the best, it always is.”

“What?” _Here it comes, brace yourself Matt_. “Why would you- what are you talking about?”

“I did what I always do, I did it too soon, and now you want to leave,” I explained, though he was probably just trying to rub salt in the wound. “I understand, I really do, and I swear that I can pretend nothing happened between us at all, ever, I’ve done it before-”

“ _Matt_ ,” Shiro whispered, bringing a hand up to my face. “Where did you get the idea that I’d want that? And what do you mean you’ve done this before?”

Well, that was unexpected.

“I mean that I came on too strong again and every other time I’ve done that people left, so you probably will, too.” I frowned. “I only got a second date twice, and I only ever got past that with one person. That person left after the fourth date. I don’t know what I was thinking when I expected you to actually want to stay, so I’ll pretend we were nothing, that we’re just friends. Hell, if you want I can pretend we’ve never met, I’ve had to do that before!”

“Matt,” Shiro’s voice cracked on my name, and it broke my heart a little. Usually it wasn’t this damn _hard_ to say goodbye and end a relationship after one date, especially for the person ending it. Why was this so different? “Matt, I don’t know why you think you’ve made me want to leave. I don’t know how you’ve never gotten past a fifth date with someone before, you certainly deserve it! I just know that, at least for now, I definitely don’t want to act like this never happened. I… if it’s alright with you, I’d even go far enough to say that I want to do it again, and again, and again. If you let me, of course.”

I looked up at Shiro only to find that he was crying. That made me widen my eyes and realize I had made this _worse_ , I had guilt-tripped him into staying with me, to thinking I was good, and now he felt bad about it. It made me feel horrible.

“No, you don’t have to say that,” I said with a sigh. “I understand, really. There’s no reason to give me a pity date, I promise.”

“Is that all you think this is?” Shiro whispered, and when I looked him in the eye the only thing I could see was raw hurt. Shit, that was my fault. “I’m not dating you out of pity, Matt, I’m dating you because I like you. Hell, I know we’ve only been on one date so this is absolutely too soon but I may even love you. I don’t know why you’re so set on pushing me away, making me look like the bad guy, but if that’s what you want then _fine_. I’ll just leave, then.”

Before I could figure out how to even respond to something like that, to Shiro confessing his love and breaking up with me in the same fucking breath, Shiro left the room. He was gone, possibly for good, and this time I could say for sure that it really was my fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's all I have to publish for now, I'll keep writing it and publish when I can!
> 
> Also, my sneaky peak at Hunk was that he's the EMS worker that stuck behind to get the story from Romelle. Lance wasn't there to recognize him and Shiro hasn't ever seen him in his work gear, so no one's recognized him yet. I have a feeling that Shay's going to fill everyone in about the hot EMS worker that saved her life later, though... :)
> 
> I'm also planning a big get together with everyone eventually, so we'll see how that goes!


	5. The Sibling's Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt is a mess. Pidge isn't good at comforting people, but at the same time somehow knows exactly what to say. In the end, Matt is still a mess regardless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a long one, honestly it took me like a month to finally wrap up but I made this account yesterday so it doesn't seem like it.  
> Aaaaaanyways, enjoy! This might be the last one for a little while, I have to write the next chapters from here on out, so I'm not really publishing stuff that's already written anymore.

The first thing I did when Shiro left was cry.

There was nothing else _to_ do at first, at least in my mind, but then I realized I had to go back to work so I made myself presentable and then went to go do that.

When I went back into GTG itself the shop was eerily silent. It made me feel more lonely than I had in awhile, which hurt more than anything Shiro had said. I hadn’t meant to push him away, not at all; I had just thought I was helping speed along the inevitable, which technically worked. I wasn’t _entirely_ wrong.

I felt a little better when I realized that I had been right. Being right always made me feel good, even if it was being right about the fact that people always left. It was the way life worked. As Robert Frost said, “Nothing gold can stay.” Nothing good is _actually_ going to last, it just seems like it will.

With that final thought I went back into retail mode, working with any customers that came in until my shift was over.

\-----

“Hey, bro!” Pidge said as they walked in to take over my shift. “Where’s Meadow?”

“Hospital,” I answered. “And before you ask, she’s not dying. Passed out is all.”

Pidge hummed. “See, most people would think that’s what your pouting is about. I’m not most people. What’s it really about?”

“Tell you later,” I promised. “For now, though, I just wanna leave. Who’s taking over with you?”

“Did you forget that you’re working doubles today?” Pidge said, and that made me want to go curl up and die. I didn’t hate them, far from it really, I just wasn’t in the mood to work doubles.

“You wanna cover for me and let me skip today?” I asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

“ _Hell_ no,” Pidge answered, predictably. “Cover for you and let your sorry ass go mope at home? No way in hell am I letting you do that, Shit. You’re going to sit right here and tell me what’s up in between customers. Then we leave together, I buy you dinner _and_ ice cream, and everything gets better. Deal?”

I frowned, but so did Pidge. I knew I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this so I admitted defeat. “Deal.”

“So? Why the sad face?”

I sighed. I _really_ didn’t want to do this, not right now, not ever. “We broke up.”

“Be more specific, big bro,” Pidge said, pulling out _that_ card. “You and Shiro, who have absolutely no reason to break up because you’re both completely whipped, or you and your side-hoe that you broke up with the moment you found Shiro?”

“Me and Shiro,” I whispered. I felt like I was going to cry again, but now was really not the time.

“Oh shit.” Pidge frowned before looking at me. “You’re joking, right?”

“No, he left.” I shrugged. “You know I’m used to it by now, I’m fine.”

“Like _hell_ you are!” Pidge exclaimed. “Why the _flying fuck_ would either of you do that? You’re idiots, that’s what you are! I don’t even feel love like that and I can look at you two after one date and tell that’s what you two have! What the _absolute fuck, Matthew Francis Holt_?!”

And there it was: the full name. Pidge was _pissed_ , and understandably so. I had just absolutely ruined their blackmail, I’d be pissed too.

“Look, I know I just ruined your blackmail-” I started before they cut me off.

“FUCK MY BLACKMAIL!” Pidge exclaimed. “Fuck it! I care about _you_ , you absolute idiot, not my fucking _blackmail_!”

“...what?” I was stunned. Pidge never got mad about me being sad, they were always mad about losing blackmail material when I got left by people… right?

“How do you have this thick of a skull,” Pidge said, less of a question and more like a comment on my stupidity. “I _care_ about you. Always have, even though I have weird ways of showing it sometimes. You know who else cares about you? Shiro, and Keith too. You know who else cares about Shiro? Keith. Honestly, I’m pretty worried about him ripping you a new one for this.”

“Okay, so I know this is my fault-” I tried to start, before Pidge cut me off again.

“Seriously?” Pidge spat. “He left you, how is this your fault? And why do you always say that it is?”

“Because it is, I kinda… pushed him away?” I shrugged, embarrassed and ashamed.

“And why the fuck would you do that?”

“Okay first of all, you really need to chill with the language,” I said. “That’s been like 10 fucks in five minutes.”

“Six, actually, in four minutes,” Pidge interrupted, and I glared at them. They smiled sheepishly. “Continue.”

“Secondly, I may have pushed him away because I thought he was going to break up with me. People always do, and then I did my whole coming-on-too-strong thing that always makes them question why they dated me in the first place and break up with me on the spot so I decided to tell him it was okay if he wanted to pretend nothing happened between us and he got all sorry and I told him not to keep me as a pity date because I don’t want that and then he told me he loved me and that he was breaking up with me in the _same goddamn breath_ and then he left the room before I could say it back.”

I had to take a moment to breathe after the record-breaking run-on sentence I had just spoken, but it was good because it gave Pidge time to speak.

“Oh, Matt,” Pidge murmured, taking one of my hands in their own. Well _that_ was unexpected. “Bro, I really feel for you, I swear I do, but that was super dumb.”

And the niceness was gone.

“What?”

They sighed. “I said, 'Bro, I really feel for you, I swear I do-'”

“No, no, I heard you,” I said, shaking my head. “I just don’t understand, I guess. How was that dumb?”

“Have you even _seen_ how he looks at you?” Pidge whispered. “One date and he looks at you like you’re his whole world. Now imagine you’ve fallen head-over-heels for someone and they start spouting absolute bullshit about how they’re not deserving or they’re willing to pretend you two were nothing at all, ever. How would you feel? What would you assume?”

“I would feel horrible,” I realized. “I might assume that they don’t want me, and that maybe they were just trying to put up with me but preparing to put me down nicely. I’d feel like they were breaking up with me.”

Pidge simply quirked an eyebrow, watching the gears in my mind turn as everything clicked.

“Shit,” I muttered. “Shit, shit, shit, _shit_.”

“And you told me _my_ language was bad,” Pidge said with a laugh. I glared at them.

“Not funny right now,” I snarled. “Not even remotely.”

Pidge raised their hands in mock surrender. “Note taken. Please continue, Shit.”

I wrinkled my nose at them but continued regardless. “I’ve royally fucked up, haven’t I?”

“About damn time you realized,” they said with a grin. “Took you _way_ too long.”

“Not. The. Fucking. Time.”

“Right,” they said. “Understood. Now, you want to know how to fix this, don’t you?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “More than anything else in the world right now.”

“Great!” Pidge’s mood had gone bright again so fast that I jumped. “I’m shit at this kind of advice, so I guess it’s a good thing you have a shift with Beefcake tomorrow and Shiro’s going to be at work. You’re going to _have_ to work things out!”

“Aw _hell_ no,” I whined. “I’m calling in sick tomorrow. I’m not dealing with my ex and his brother on the same day, no way.”

“I mean, you could call in sick,” Pidge sing-songed. “I’m not going to stop you. Thing is, I think you want this to get better. The way I see it, the only way to do that is to talk to the person who knows him best to figure out how to fix things, and that person would probably be his brother. Just a hunch.”

“Keith’s gonna kill me,” I whispered. “Like, murder. And he’d probably get Shiro to help hide the body.”

“Yeah, probably,” Pidge said.

“Not helping, little pigeon.”

“Right.”

“So how do I not get him to kill me?” I asked. “You _do_ have a plan, right?”

“Well, duh,” Pidge said. “Who would I be if I didn’t?”

\-----

The next day I was more nervous than I had been in my entire life. Ever. Period.

I didn’t want to lose Keith. I had to admit, he’d grown on me. The little emo-punk gay kid was my friend, and I didn’t want to lose that. I’d lost too many people to lose him, too.

When I walked into GTG Keith was already there. He was perched on the sales counter, waiting. I sighed. Might as well get this over with.

“Hey, Beefcake!” I said, putting on my best cheerful-as-ever voice as I practically waltzed into GTG. It was all for show; I didn’t want Keith to think I was _absolutely_ miserable, but I really was.

“Shiro’s upset,” Keith said, blunt as ever. He had never been one to beat around the bush, so I wasn’t really surprised. “I stand by what I told you about him, y’know.”

Right. Shiro was a martial artist. Why did I think coming into work was a good idea?

“Yeah, I know he’s gonna kick my ass,” I said. “Honestly, I’d let him. I deserve it.”

“Damn right you do!” Keith exclaimed. “He came home in tears, Matt. _Tears_! Shiro never cries, what the absolute _fuck_ happened?”

“He didn’t tell you?” I whispered, shocked.

“No, said he wasn't ready to. Honestly, even if he wanted to I doubt he would’ve been able to with the amount of effort he was putting in to crying. So tell me, Matt, what did you do to my brother?”

“I didn’t mean to-” I started, only to be cut off by Keith.

“I don’t _care_ ,” he hissed. “I just want to know what happened. Even if we can’t fix it, even if you don’t care about him anymore, even if you never fucking _did_ in the first place, I just want to know why my brother is holed up in his room and not coming out or answering me anymore.”

“He’s what?” I whispered.

“He’s not answering me,” Keith said, and I saw his eyes start to look watery. “He’s been crying since he got home and he won’t leave his room, even to eat. He’s not letting me in, and it hasn’t gotten any better. I don’t even know if he called in sick, he might’ve just decided to not show up at all.”

I closed my eyes, not even able to bear looking at Keith anymore. “I didn’t know. I didn’t think he actually cared that much, I didn’t _know_ , how didn’t I know? I’m so sorry, Keith, I really am, he’s just so different from anyone else I’ve had and I didn’t know what to do. Still don’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“He cares,” I said, feeling the tears start to fall. “He cares so much, I’ve never had anyone care. The moment I showed real and true affection I was told I came on too strong and I got left behind. When I did that to Shiro I was expecting to be left behind so I tried to leave him behind first.”

“Oh, Matt,” Keith’s voice sounded choked, and I didn’t have to open my eyes to know that he was crying too. “Matt, we all care about you here. I didn’t know… if I had, maybe I could’ve gotten through to him better. Maybe I could’ve helped both of you out.”

“No, Keith, this isn’t your fault or your problem. I need to fix this, I just…”

“You don’t know how?” Keith guessed, speaking softly as if he was afraid of whatever answers he’d be able to give me, afraid of how I’d have to help.

“Yeah, I don’t know how.” I finally dared to open my eyes, which confirmed that Keith was crying. That threw me a little, I hadn't ever seen him cry.

“I think we should start with having you explain to him,” Keith said. “He probably doesn’t know why you did this, or that you’re as torn up about it as he is. I want to help, I’ll take you home with me today and let you talk to him. Maybe you can get through where I couldn’t.”

\-----

When our shift was over Pidge came to take over with someone I hadn’t ever met before.

“Hey Pidgeotto, who’s that?” I asked.

“Ina,” Pidge said simply before walking over to the counter and pushing both me and Keith out from behind it. “She’s new, I’m training her, have a nice time fixing your situation!”

As we left I heard Ina ask something about the manner of Keith’s relationship with me and Pidge’s laughter echoed in my head as we made our way to the mall parking.

\-----

I followed Keith’s car just like he told me to, and before I knew it we were at his house. At his and _Shiro’s_ house.

“So, what are you gonna say to him?” Keith asked as we were walking inside.

“Uh, I thought you were going to help me with that?” I asked, confused.

“Oh, right! Uh, so just explain why you did what you did and maybe tell him that you love him back?” Keith shrugged. “I dunno, he doesn’t really cry that much.”

“Oh shit, this is bad,” Matt groaned.

“Yeah, uh, maybe you can bring him some food too?” Keith suggested. “As far as I know he hasn’t eaten.”

I nodded and the moment I nodded Keith was pushing a plate into my hands. It was a peanut butter sandwich, Pidge’s favorite even though they were allergic. It always struck me as ironic that someone would love something that could hurt them, but Pidge was always a little strange.

Keith started rummaging through the fridge as I stood there considering what I was going to say to Shiro. I was still thinking when he let out a triumphant yell and pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge.

So, a few things happened then. I felt _extremely_ confused, torn between asking Keith what was so excited about a fucking carton of milk and watching this play out. I heard a door open somewhere upstairs, which I assume Keith also heard because he dropped the milk in surprise. This, in turn, caused him to slip on the milk with a shout and land on his ass _in a puddle of milk_. I then dropped the plate I was holding to go help Keith up, which had the peanut butter sandwich for Shiro landing on the ground.

After all of that I scrambled over to help Keith up, reaching out a hand. Then Shiro came down the stairs, which is what I assume the open door was from, and I fell on my ass next to Keith in the milk from shock at seeing my ex-boyfriend.

There was only one appropriate reaction to this situation, and Shiro summed it up perfectly.

“What the _fuck_?”


	6. So I Should Probably Explain Myself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long-ish gap in updates! I've been swamped with school (still am, really) and haven't had the time to update. I'm working on the next chapter and another Klance fic, though, so maybe those will be up soon. Who knows with me, honestly.  
> Anyways, enjoy what's already here until I can keep posting!

“Yeah, uh, hey Shiro!” Keith said, face very obviously one of panic. “Nothing going on here, nope!”

“I thought we agreed you’d stay away from the milk,” Shiro said, still ignoring me. I was fine with that, I still had to collect my thoughts big time.

“We both knew I was lying.”

Shiro sighed. “And I thought we both agreed that maybe, just maybe, you could not make yourself sick?”

“Well if it makes you feel better I didn’t get to drink any of it before I dropped it.”

“Wait,” I said, gears finally turning. “You’re lactose intolerant?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, frowning. “Why?”

“Didn’t Lance bring you a milkshake last week?”

“Dude!” Keith shouted, flailing at me. “You snitched on me! To Shiro! Dude!”

“Well I mean that’s the first step to getting back on my good side,” Shiro said, and I finally looked at him. His eyes were red and puffy and oh god he really was crying, and he was wearing a dorky pair of Superman pajamas. I was still in love, wow, Superman.

“I, uh, that’s good,” I said, stumbling over my words that I hadn’t prepared in the slightest. “That’s actually kinda why I’m here. To apologize, to say sorry, and to say that you don’t have to forgive me and you can have as much time as you want even if it’s forever. I just want you to hear me out.”

Shiro frowned, brow furrowing, but he gestured for me to continue as he sat down on the floor.

“So I know what I said could be interpreted very… wrong, but I promise I didn’t mean what you probably think I did,” I started, sighing before continuing. “I said some things I regret, and I don’t know if you said anything that you regret or not but I definitely regret pushing you away. I didn’t mean to, I just guess old habits die hard? Basically, people typically reject me once I come on a little too strong too fast and you seemed awkward so I tried to spare myself the pain and reject you first. I’m seeing now that doing so was definitely a bad decision on my part, and I understand and respect any decision you make about what you want to do with me or my apology but I needed to tell you. And if you’re up to it, maybe I could take you on a fancy date and pay as a part of the apology?”

Shiro sat still and silent for a moment before his face split into a grin. “You… you mean it?”

I nodded. “Every word.”

“Then you better not be asking me to go on a date with you right now because I won’t be sorry for not wanting to go on a date with someone who is currently sitting in milk.”

I looked at Keith, who looked shocked to the core, and I started laughing. Shiro’s grin widened, and Keith finally smiled.

“Alright, but I didn’t drive here,” I said. “Keith, my man, my bro, you better be taking me home because I’m fine getting you all milky but I feel like the apology would be ruined if I got Shiro milky.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Fine, but you owe me. Big time. Not to mention that you dropped the sandwich, what the hell man?”

“I dropped it to help you up but then Shiro startled me enough that I fell down with you,” I explained. “I was picking my priorities.”

Keith’s eyes widened and he looked between me and Shiro a few times before talking. “So, uh, after that neither of you are allowed to fuck this up. I don’t exactly want Pidge as a sibling-in-law but damn if I don’t want Matt as my brother-in-law more than ever. Not that I haven’t before, but prioritizing me over your heartfelt apology? That was a real bonding moment there.”

I laughed, sparing a glance at Shiro who was just watching Keith in shock. I knew by now that Keith didn’t really talk about feelings, but that was probably the nicest thing he’s ever said to me. I couldn’t help but laugh, honestly.

“Alright, I’m gonna go change and get myself a towel,” Keith said after my laughter died down. “Stay in the milk, that way it won’t get anywhere else.”

“Uh, Keith?” Shiro said, raising an eyebrow. “That’s kinda not how liquids work.”

“Then how _do_ they work, Professor Shirogane?”

“They fucking evaporate, smartass.”

“That’s kinda… I mean, it’s true, sure, but that’s not what you mean,” I said. “I’m really into science stuff, I’m in school to be an engineer after all, and-”

“You never told me that!” Keith blurted out. “Man, that’s cool!”

“As I was saying, while liquids _do_ evaporate that’s not what Shiro’s upset about here. He’s probably more upset about the milk getting into the floor and smelling like Satan’s asshole for eternity, not about it evaporating. Which means we should clean it up, now rather than later.”

“Alright, I’ll let you two take care of that,” Shiro said, standing up. “I’ve got a date to prepare for, after all.”

I stuck my tongue out at him as Keith laughed, but then he caught a glance of the clock and cursed.

“What is it?”

“Do you mind if I just drop you off at your house?” Keith said, hurrying to start cleaning up the milk.

“I don’t mind, no, but why the sudden rush?”

“I just remembered I have a date with Lance in an hour and I need to change, badly.”

“Ooh, little Beefcake has a date!” I grinned, ruffling his hair when he ran back around near me and we started cleaning up the milk. “They grow up so fast.”

“Fuck off,” Keith said, but his tone was more joking than anything. “I’ve gone on dates before, this isn't new news.”

“Yeah, but never with a man that can play Despacito,” I pointed out. “He’s obviously a keeper.”

“True that,” Keith said with a sigh. “He’s also a sweetheart, honestly. Fuck, Matt, am I in love?”

“Man I can’t see inside your head, I don’t know.”

“Are you in love with Shiro?”

I sputtered, thrown off by the sudden heavy question. Was I? I didn’t know. I had _just_ gotten him back and I was already being asked, by his _brother_ , mind you, if I was in love with him? How was I supposed to answer that?

After an awkwardly long pause I finally answered Keith. “I think I am?”

“Well, just so I have a better idea of what to look for with Lance, why do you think that?”

“I think I am because he’s perfect, Keith, so perfect. I mean, he’s so nice, and so understanding, and caring, but he also has, like, the most _perfect_ ass I’ve ever seen so that helps.”

“That is my _brother_ you’re talking about!”

I shrugged. “You asked.”

“I did,” Keith admitted. “I think you’re right, though. Lance is nice and also has a perfect ass. Maybe that’s how you tell if you’re in love or not?”

I nodded. “If he has a good personality and a better ass it’s gotta be love.”

“I should ask Shay, she’d probably agree.”

“Oh my god, did she tell you about that EMS worker yet?” I asked, grinning.

“No?” Keith’s eyes bugged. “Did she literally hook up with the EMS worker?”

“Yeah!”

“No fucking way! The madwoman!”

“I know, right?” I shook my head in disbelief. “That’s what I said when she told me. Apparently they’re going out now, his name is Hunk.”

“Wait, like, wait, hang on,” Keith fumbled, now officially done with the milk and racing for a few towels and his car keys.

When he came back he seemed to have processed his words. “The worker’s name was Hunk? Like, maybe _Lance’s_ Hunk?”

“Wait, you guys are poly?” I asked, confused.

“No, dumbass, Shiro’s probably mentioned him before,” Keith said, dragging me out the door and throwing me a towel as he talked. “Lance’s best friend, Hunk, the sweetest person ever.”

“You’ve met him?”

“No, that’s just stuff Lance says,” Keith admitted. “Hunk doesn’t seem like a common name, though, unless you confused a name and her calling him a hunk.”

I flipped my phone open, checking my texts with Shay for good measure before shaking my head. “Nope, definitely a name.”

“Wow,” Keith said. “Small world I guess? I’ll have to ask Lance about it on our date.”

“Please do,” I begged. “I need details, ASAP. Please Keith, I’ll owe you one more.”

“While I love you owing me, I think you owe me enough already. I’m just curious now.”

“Okay, that’s good, I thought I owed you a lot already,” I said, laughing. “Pidge would’ve never let me out of that.”

“Yet another reason I don’t want Pidge as a sibling-in-law,” Keith grumbled as he pulled out of the driveway.

“They did admit that they care about me more than blackmail.”

“That’s a first.”

“I know! I was just as shocked as you are!”

Keith laughed and we finally left to bring me home so I could get changed for my 2nd date with Shiro.

\-----

“Uh, Pidge?” I had dialed their number on my phone, looking at my closet in our flat.

We chose to live together out of convenience, probably not unlike Keith and Shiro likely had. We had two dogs, Bae Bae and Gunther, but other than that it was just us. It was nice, it had its perks, but I was still in the habit of calling Pidge instead of actually going to talk to them.

“Matt, I’m literally in the house,” Pidge said, answering the phone. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

I heard the tell-tale beep of the phone hanging up and groaned. This would be much easier if I didn’t have to deal with Pidge laughing at me to my face.

“What is it this time?” Pidge grumbled as they walked into the room.

“I’m going on a date with Shiro.” I sighed. “I know you’re not the best help but you’re all I’ve got, so can you help me with clothes?”

There was a mischievous glint in Pidge’s eye and I groaned. That was never a good thing, _especially_ when it was directed at me.

“I actually know a gal who may be able to help you out here,” Pidge said as they unlocked their phone. “I’ll call her over. Actually, I think you’ve probably met her before come to think of it.”

“Who?”

“Allura.”


	7. Why Must We All Be Disasters?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know I said I'd be updating more regularly but... well, shit happens. Home life got busy, I had a bit of a mental health emergency to take care of, I've had a few leftover school things to do, and this is all without mentioning the horrendous writer's block I've had recently.  
> Basically whatever is in charge of our meager existences looked at me and said, "You know what? Fuck this one in particular, let's not let them finish their work!"  
> Good news is I'm kinda back now and the writer's block is fading, so I should be posting more stuff again. Yay! I'm also significantly less busy and the mental health is going good now, so I should be here for a while before anything happens again.  
> Anyways, enjoy this chapter! I'm hoping more stuff is to come soon!

“Allura?” I exclaimed. “How’d you meet her?”

“Same way you met Shiro.” Pidge shrugged. “She’s pretty good with fashion. I mean, she _does_ work at a suit shop and have you seen her hair? I would be jealous if I actually wanted long hair again.”

“Yeah, but Allura?”

“Matt, bro, you sound like a broken record.”

I sighed. “But why her?”

“Well, I _could_ make you a list but that would take too long.” Pidge grinned and hit the call button on their phone. “Now do us all a favor and shut up for a minute, I’ll put her on speaker so you can hear too.”

The phone rang for a moment before Allura picked up. Really, since when did Pidge have Allura’s number? Why didn’t I know about this?

“Pidge? What are you calling about at this hour of the day, without a text first no less?”

“Ah, yes, that,” Pidge said, obviously holding back laughter. “We have a fashion disaster that needs a little help.”

“Hey!” I exclaimed, snatching the phone out of Pidge’s hand. “Hi, this is Matt, I’m not a fashion disaster but I _do_ have a date with Shiro and I wanna look nice. Could you help?”

“See, I _would_ help, but I’m a little busy at the moment,” Allura said and I heard shouting in the background from her end.

“Allura! Blue or black? Or should I go red? He likes red, right?” The voice was quiet, but it was still audible. I had no clue who it was, but Allura was obviously occupied.

“Who’s that Allura? Another date disaster?”

“Yup! You’d never guess but it’s Lance!”

“I thought his date with Keith was in less than an hour?” I said.

“OH SHIT!” The voice that I now recognized as Lance shouted. “Allura, _blue, red, or black_? HURRY!”

“Lance-” Allura cut herself off to talk to Pidge one last time. “As you can see, Pidge, I’m a tad busy right now. Figure it out yourself, please, good luck!”

I caught Allura yelling, “Black, Lance, it’s the safest option!” before she hung up the phone and Pidge groaned.

“Well, I guess we have to figure this out on our own,” I said, smiling uneasily.

“Why me?”

“You’re the only other person here,” I said. “Unless you know someone else-”

“Of _course_!” Pidge exclaimed. “The BAMF herself!”

“Oh my fuck,” I said. “Please bring her over, I _need_ to ask her about Hunk.”

Pidge was jumping up and down as she made the call, excited about seeing Shay again. I think she was Pidge’s favorite out of all of us, but she is cool so it made sense.

“She said she’s on her way! How much time do you have?”

“Well it’s a dinner date, but I’d say we could probably leave around 5:30?”

“That leaves us… hmm, about forty-five minutes!”

“And how long until Shay’s here?” I asked.

“She said to give her five.”

“So we’ll be fine.”

“Should be.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“When have I ever been reassuring?”

I sighed. Pidge was right, sure, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I just hoped that this make-up date wasn’t as much of a disaster as I was.

\-----

We heard the buzzer and Pidge ran to answer it, finding Shay at the door. The moment she was inside I ambushed her and made a point of shooing Pidge out of my room.

“So? How’s Hunk?” I asked. “More importantly, _who’s_ Hunk? Like, I know he’s the EMS person but other than that.”

Shay laughed. “Aren’t we planning for your date?”

“Technicalities,” I said, waving my hand. “We can pick an outfit and gossip at the same time, don’t act like you haven’t done it.”

“You speak with such wisdom, young Holt, wherever did you get it?” Shay said with a very fake voice of a wise sage.

“I got it from Joe,” I joked.

“Okay, that was… really bad.”

“I know. That’s why I said it.”

“You suck ass, Shit,” she said, poking me in the ribs.

“That’s the plan if everything goes right here,” I said.

“Gross!” Shay yelled.

“Don’t act like you weren’t thinking it!”

“Let’s just pick the damn outfit!” she said to change the subject.

“So,” I said, “I was thinking orange. Would that go well or no?”

“You’re a fucking disaster,” Shay grumbled before returning to a normal volume. “Of course orange is a no, it’s a disaster color and you know it!”

“Well then maybe purple? Traditional has never been my style.”

“Actually, purple might just work,” Shay said, shuffling around in my closet to find something purple. She didn’t have to look hard since my closet was nearly all purples and oranges but she also had to find something relatively nice so that was a bit more difficult.

“How’s this one fit on you?” she asked as she held up a dark purple dress shirt.

“I don’t know, I don’t really dress up often.”

“Try it on then, you useless gay!”

“That’s useless bi to you!”

“Oh just shut up and try on the shirt!”

I rolled my eyes with a smile and I threw off the shirt I was currently wearing to replace it with the dress shirt. Shay looked me up and down before giving me a thumbs up and throwing me a pair of dress pants. I put those on too before she gave me another thumbs up and I looked in the mirror.

“So the only thing we need to fix is your hair,” Shay said. “It’s absolutely atrocious if I’m being honest, at least put it up if you’re going to keep it so long!”

“Fine, you can put it up,” I said. “I just like it shaggy, it’s fun!”

“You can have fun after your make-up fancy date, okay Shit?”

“Got it missus BAMF!” I said with a smile as I sat down in front of Shay on the ground. She was perching on my bed so she could have better access to my hair and before I knew it I had a wonderful ponytail.

“So can we gossip about Hunk now?” I asked. “I’m done, what’s he like?”

“You are not done Matthew, sit your ass right there and I’m gonna do your makeup!” Shay said.

“But can you tell me about Hunk while you do?”

“Fine. I’ll do your makeup and tell you about Hunk and then you’ll go on your date, deal?”

“Deal!”

\-----

“Shay you are a _lifesaver_!” Pidge squealed when they saw me. “Eyeliner, who would’ve thought? Not to mention the perfect blending on the eyeshadow, you have to teach me your tricks!”

Shay winked with a smile. “Maybe at some point dear Pidgeotto, but for now little Shit needs to go on his date with the wondrous Takashi Shirogane.”

“Stay with me and teach me?” Pidge begged. “Don’t leave me here alone Meadows, you’re the BAMF I always needed and I want you here to teach me your ways!”

“Fine, you’re lucky you’re cute,” Shay joked, joining Pidge at the kitchen table with all of her makeup supplies.

“Guess I’ll be out then?” I said.

“Yeah, good luck big bro! Don’t fuck this up, I actually kinda like Keith!” Pidge yelled.

“I’ll tell him you said that!”

“Don’t you _fucking_ dare!”

Shay was laughing but managed to spit out a ‘good luck’ before I was out the door and on my way to my date with Shiro. This was it, the real deal, and I was terrified.


End file.
